The Ultimate War Of The Apocalypse
Chapter 269 - 263: Hurry Up and Go

Chapter 269: Chapter 263: Hurry Up and Go

Further ahead was the enemy’s main position.

The main position differed a bit from the frontline; the frontline was where one would face the enemy in direct combat, whereas the main position was slightly to the rear, containing a mass of reinforcements. If the frontline couldn’t hold, then troops would be dispatched forward to reinforce it. If there was a need to strengthen forces to break through the enemy’s defense, that too would be done by deploying entire units of reserves from the main position.

So not far ahead was the Indian main position, where the most troops were concentrated—at least several thousand.

Here, I must explain the terrain of Gilgit once more.

Gilgit is a small town with a permanent population of just over ten thousand people, yet it is the central city of Northern Kashmir, a hub city.

Gilgit is nestled within a valley; to its southeast lies the Karakoram Range. Though a small town in the mountains, Gilgit does have an airport, and more importantly, it lies by the Karakoram Highway. Traveling northeast along the Hunza Valley leads to Shenzhou, and that’s exactly how Gao Yuan and his comrades got here.

Thus, if Pakistan had to choose a new central city on the plateau, Gilgit would be the best pick.

However, the reason Gilgit had been surrounded by the Sanitation Worker Organization’s army is precisely because it is situated in a valley. After India suddenly started the war, they executed a beautiful encirclement on both flanks. Once they blockaded both ends of the valley, the Pakistan side was truly out of options for breaking out.

One could only blame Pakistan for underestimating the enemy, but then again, who could have predicted that the Sanitation Worker Organization, having controlled a small faction of troops after the alien invasion, would seize the opportunity to attack?

Now, all wars among humans had become civil wars. Any rational person would be considering how to survive longer under the aliens’ claws, but the Sanitation Workers insisted on eliminating their mortal enemies before humanity’s potential extinction—who could contend with that?

If it weren’t for the incomprehensible thought process of the Sanitation Worker, how would Zhao Qiang have died?

Now, the objective for Gao Yuan and his team was to traverse the valley, which spanned less than a kilometer in width and was occupied by the enemy.

The terrain was too narrow, which made it convenient for the Sanitation Workers to surround Gilgit, but it also meant that the Sanitation Worker Organization couldn’t deploy all its forces. The frontline was so densely packed with personnel that a single artillery shell would lead to numerous casualties. Therefore, the Sanitation Workers could only engage in a war of attrition with Pakistan, sending in as many troops as were lost at the front.

The heavy fighting in the real frontline area probably involved no more than a battalion’s worth of troops along with tanks and armored vehicles. This was certain and could be no other way; in any place where one engages in protracted fights over the same ground, battles eventually devolve to this state.

So the place Gao Yuan and his comrades intended to infiltrate was not a command base in the rear, nor an artillery position, but an actual large military camp with at least several thousand troops.

Given that it was a large camp, considering the terrain, it was easy to infer that the enemy’s camp wouldn’t be a neat square or a straight line, but rather a long line that threaded along both sides of the highway, occupying every flat piece of land in a lengthy strand.

To get through such a camp was not like drilling a hole in a steel plate, but more like splitting a steel bar top to bottom—that was the concept.

The enemy’s barracks probably stretched for several kilometers; how to overcome this was a source of increasing worry for Gao Yuan and his companions.

The jeep came to a stop, and Gao Yuan and Panxin once again raised their large, handheld night vision device to observe.

"The enemy is prepared, and it’s quite possible they might send tanks and armored vehicles to check things out," said Panxin as he passed the night vision device to Gao Yuan.

Gao Yuan took a glance and saw that several tanks were deployed in a line along the road, out of sight beyond a bend. However, when the road reemerged from behind the mountain, many figures could be seen running back and forth on the road, with lights shining in many parts of the camp.

"They’re definitely prepared, but three hours have passed, and they should have acted by now, right? Why wait until now?" Gao Yuan still didn’t understand.

Panxin confidently said, "Considering the efficiency of the Sanitation Worker Organization, it’s good enough if they can set off before dawn. But logically, they should send troops to scout the situation. The explosion was so fierce, they’re not deaf and should’ve heard it."

Gao Yuan was baffled, "But we haven’t encountered a single person. Shouldn’t they send scouts to investigate before deploying the tank units?"

Panxin fell silent, then shook his head, "I don’t know; don’t ask me, ask King Kong."

Li Jingang replied with annoyance, "Mr. Jian’er, are you ridiculing me?"

"How have I ridiculed you?"

"If even you can’t grasp how the Sanitation Worker Organization thinks, how can I? Any fool knows that if you find something wrong with your rear command base, you check it out right away. But they just ignore it, how can I understand what’s going on?"

Panxin coughed lightly, then looked at Gao Yuan, "As a rookie who has never been to the battlefield and hasn’t had proper training, how would you act if you were in the shoes of the Sanitation Worker Organization?"

Gao Yuan was startled for a moment, then said to Panxin, "I’ve never learned how to fight a war, but I’m not a fool. Comparing me to the Sanitation Worker Organization is an insult."

Panzin sighed and said, "As a rookie, if you can’t understand it, let’s not think about it anymore. Let’s consider how to fight to cause the enemy the greatest confusion."

Without hesitation, Gao Yuan continued, "First, we need to create the illusion that we have a lot of people, and then we also need to create the illusion that our attack is very sharp."

"The attack is very sharp; that’s not an illusion. According to a normal battle, our attack tonight has already been as sharp as it can get, but go on," Panxin said.

Gao Yuan went on, "The Sanitation Worker Organization is only afraid of Shenzhou coming up from behind them. Otherwise, they wouldn’t need to deploy a battalion in the rear as an advanced guard. Now, we will use that point to our advantage. We’ll make the Sanitation Worker Organization think that the main Shenzhou force is coming for them. Even a superficial charge, if successful, would allow us to attack amidst the chaos; if not, we quickly retreat. What do you think?"

Panzin and Li Jingang exchanged looks, then Panxin said, "The overall train of thought is correct."

"Hmm, quite mature. It all depends on the implementation of the specific details. Overall, you don’t sound like a greenhorn."

"It’s just that, it’s no surprise he could think of it."

Gao Yuan looked at Panxin and said, "What do you two mean? Are you in the mood to test me now?"

Panzin smiled, then he nodded and said, "You’re growing fast. It’s a compliment, yeah. Now the issue is the specific details of implementation. Do you know how to create the illusion of having a lot of people when there are only three of us?"

"I really don’t know that."

Li Jingang, speaking with a calm tone, said, "In ancient times, it would be much easier to do things like tying branches to horse tails to kick up more dust or set up more banners. Doing things like increasing cooking fires when reducing troops or reducing fires when increasing troops were all ways to create illusions of troop numbers to confuse the enemy. But in modern warfare, these tricks are useless because the advantage is built on firepower. Ten thousand people with only one gun is useless, right? So now, to confuse the enemy, you can only enhance the firepower."

Panzin added, "Exactly. For example, a company has a heavy machine gun, a battalion has a howitzer. If you estimate the enemy’s troop strength based on this equipment, then by looking at the enemy’s firepower, you could roughly estimate their size and number. But if we increase the firepower to ten heavy machine guns for a company and a battalion equipped with ten howitzers, then, without accurate intelligence, the enemy would naturally multiply our numbers by tenfold to calculate. They must do this calculation because overestimating the enemy is always better than underestimating."

Gao Yuan nodded, "I get it, I get it. But how do we do that? Right now, how do we do it?"

Panzin let out a breath and said, "Three people, three guns. Don’t even talk about creating illusions—one shot and the truth will be revealed. So, we can only rely on you now."

Li Jingang said in a low voice, "In the shortest time, throw all the hand grenades you have. Don’t aim at one place; the faster and broader the blast, the better."

Gao Yuan nodded, then Panxin continued, "Change firing positions often, like many people shooting from different places. All of this... you’ll have to rely on yourself..."

Gao Yuan continued nodding.

Panzin said in a low voice, "The main concern is the tank; that tank is a hassle. We didn’t bring any anti-tank weapons, and that’s a real problem..."

Li Jingang said in a low voice, "The most troublesome thing is the enemy using the T90S tank. The tank is equipped with thermal imaging, and I was thinking... we can’t handle the tank..."

Panzin handed the night vision goggles back to Gao Yuan and said, "Have another look, see where the enemy’s weakness is or where our only chance might be."

Gao Yuan raised the night vision goggles and looked for a long time, especially at the tank. He inspected it carefully, over and over again, then suddenly said, "It seems... the tank’s hatch is still open?"

Panzin patted Gao Yuan on the back, laughed, and said, "Very good, very good, that’s excellent. Do you see? They positioned the tank, but it hasn’t been started yet, and people are running around outside. Therefore, the tank crews won’t rush to close the hatches. The driver might even stick his head out to drive, so do you have a plan?"

Without hesitation, Gao Yuan said, "It’s simple. I’ll rush over there and throw grenades into the tank—that’s it!"

"What if the thermal imaging on the tank is turned on? You will be spotted before you even get close."

Gao Yuan smiled and pointed to the steep cliff on the right side of the highway, "I’ll go over the mountain. A route that’s impassable for you is no problem for me at all."

"Are you confident?"

"Of course, I am. Why else would I say so?"

Panzin exhaled and said, "Well, since you’ve thought it through and are confident, what are you waiting for? Go on, then!"